Pyaar Ka Punchnama

Cast: Kartikeya Tiwari,Rayo Bhakirta,Divyendu Sharma,Sonali Sehgal,Nushrat Bharucha,Ishita Sharma

Director: Luv Ranjan

"Pyaar Ka Punchnama" packs in a precocious punch. In telling the story of three friends cum flatmate who get into 'serious' relationships with three self-serving working class female monsters of the concrete jungle, debut ant director Luv Ranjan gives us a film that's fresh, flavorful and finally hugely rewarding. Not that the film attempts to say anything we've not seen before. That's the beauty of this sometimes-embarrassing sometimes-disturbing, often-funny and never dull peek-a-boo at youthful life in the metropolis where human values are frequently sacrificed for the sake of a trendy lifestyle or maybe just to get even with a fast-moving materialistic city that doesn't care how much you carry in your heart as long as the credit cards keep working their mall magic.

Meet Rajat (Kartikeya Tiwari) who, alas, meets Riya and his life changes forever. Wish we could say, for the better. In terms of an emotional graph and dramatic momentum, Kartikeya is the screenplay's most appealing and inviting character. That the actor plays his character with great gusto, just adds to the charm of the proceedings. No doubt the Rajat-Riya track conveys echoes of the Saif Ali Khan-Suchitra Pillai lamb-and-bully equation in Farhan Akhtar's "Dil Chahta Hai". It's not novelty for which this film wins extra points. It's the sheer energy, exuberance and sardonic humor that the director invests into building a case against young men in the city 'falling' (with a humping thud) in love with girl so ambitious they would climb the highest peak at the slightest pretext. And we aren't talking about the Himalayas.

Though there's a delectable sexual subtext to the relationships, Ranjan keeps the proceedings surprisingly free of crassness. The vast eclectic material is nimbly edited in a criss-cross of fast-moving vignettes taken from a suburban immorality tale. A part from an inexplicable fixation on urination in the dialogues of the first reel, the spoken lines communicate the musk of masculine prattle without getting over lurid or picturesque. For a first film, Ranjan shows a remarkable grip over his characters' destiny. If Rajat's track moves at a vibrant volition, the nerdy Liquid's (Divyendu Sharma) one sided devotion to the selfish office colleague Chara (Ishita Sharma) reeks of a desperate romance that Somerset Maugham described in his novel "Of Human Bondage" decades ago. More recently we saw Omi Vaidya do the hangdog Romeo in Madhur Bhandarkar's "Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji". Divyendu is a solid actor. He gives to his wimpy cranky character an easily recognizable profile.

The plot involving Chaudhary (Raayo Bhakhirta) and his promiscuous lust-interest is the feeblest of the three love-tracks. And it suffers only in comparison with the sturdy momentum that the director allots to Rajat and Liquid's rather sordid love stories. Deftly written and edited with words and situations straight out of real life, "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" is the kind of rugged romantic-comedy that brings the smile back into the genre. The performances specially by Kartikeya and Divyendu are rock-solid, imbuing the light-hearted but never-frivolous goings-on with flavor and strength. Kartikeya's four-minute-45-second improvised monologue on how confusing feminine conduct gets for the male species is priceless in its piquancy. Peppery and pertinent, this is a film that no one should miss. True, it is a story about the below-the-belt follies of the young. No matter what your age you will see a slice of your own spousal relationship in the vicious circle that the plot creates around its three heroes.

The ultimate horror flick? You got it! This one is about how scary the man woman thing gets because most of the time men don't know what women want. You see, woman don't want men to know. That's the secret this devilishly-delightful film lets out.He leaves office early, so he can drop her to the beauty parlor. While she's in, he shops at the mall for her she needs stuff, because she's traveling. He drops her off then to the airport, comes back home to finish off all her pending stuff from work. Just so the girl can be with her boyfriend, while she's away! He's only a concerned colleague from office, a motor-mouth who rattles at the speed of thought. None of his talk is smooth. She'd already turned him down once when he'd mustered up courage to ask her out. He hangs around like a hopeful pup still. This is a Geek Tragedy of the average frustrated chump (AFC), which would be the common Indian male.

This everyday Joe, Mr Sexless in specs, low on self esteem, lives his entire life within a dictatorship called the office space, wrapped in a checked bush shirt, office ID hung around his neck. His is a neat human sketch with finely inspired nuances. Unfortunately this actor (Divyendu Sharma) and character (both superbly brilliant) is clubbed in this film with two relatively uninteresting bozos for companions. Like him, they're also AFCs a term from Neil Strauss' The Game, a bestseller guide that's taught millions of single men around the world how to net the women they want. None of those American rules apply in an Indian context of course. Where men, right up till their mid-20s, go without having dated any women at all. This is true for the three blokes in this movie as well. They're soul mates first, flat-mates later. Their individual problems with the women they're with couldn't be more different though. One's stuck with a girl who considers him her private property. The other is in a relationship with a feline creature who likes to play him, and her ex, and several others, at the same time. They'd all still rather be with the women, than with each other. You sort of understand that desperate Indian sentiment.

Most comedies, especially sex comedies, show male of the species to be easy, reckless philanderers. These fellows are more their women's slaves. Which is often closer to the truth. It isn't that men don't stray surely they do. They usually return to the dog collar soon enough for comfort, care, and some caning, if you may! The screenplay, an excellent effort at genuine Indian dick-lit writing, still rings true, in several parts. The solid material isn't however contained enough to make for a tight film. There's no editing of thought, let alone editing out of scenes. Structure, I suppose, could weed out some of the sappiness on the screen. One episode follows another.

The movie acquires rhythms of a TV show, like so many do. We're already in the fifth season by the end of it. Though if this were a TV show, it'd be closest to an authentic Indian version of Friends, or How I Met Your Mother. Which is how and where you should watch this. Yeah, that's where Delhi men would go berserk to Summer of 69 at the karaoke bar. And hope to find a besotted girl at the table next to them!After watching the promos of 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama', one was hoping that naughty content is not just restricted to those two minutes of the playing time but also manages to extend much beyond as well. Anticipating a fun ride ahead, you step into the auditorium, only to realist that 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' indeed lives up to the very good expectations and delivers a 'punch' which is indeed different.

First time writer & director Luv Ranjan takes an out and out comedy route for the film. In fact while you keep smiling right through the narrative, there are moments when you literally fall off the chair. Yes, there are a few dramatic moments towards the middle of the second half but thankfully all of that is controlled as well with the spirit of the film never being lost. Three boys out there in the film Kartik, Raayo and Divyendu are anything but cool. In fact they are a complete antithesis of how Bollywood perceives 'cool' to be ever since Farhan Akhtar created a genre with 'Dil Chahta Hai'. The characters here are as 'desi' as they get. They talk to each other in the filthiest possible language, don't go around being on back slapping terms and are pretty comfortable to be talking about their failures. Of course in their normal life there is a mighty punch delivered when they fall in love. Kartik has a fairy tale live in relationship with a possessive girlfriend (Nushrat), Raayo's life is a little more complicated with his girlfriend (Sonalli) still hanging out with her ex-boyfriend while Divyendu's case is worst as he is being taken for a royal ride by a girl (Ishita) who may or may not have developed feelings for him. In short, all three pretty much find themselves being treated as a 'kutta' which is in perfect synch with the overall mood and theme of the film.

The film sees its graph peaking up a number of times due to certain individualistic scenes. The best of the lot is the five minute long monologue by Kartik where he goes about cursing women for all the trouble in one's life. Priceless. His bedroom scene with Nushrat where he tries to make his way out of an argument with no success is hilarious as well. On the other hand Divyendu is a riot as he just manages to walk a couple of extra steps and steal the scene. Watch out for him in the opening scene at a 'dhabha', his first interaction with Ishita where she accuses him of being a 'chep' (a pest) and especially the one towards the pre-climax when he gets his revenge.

Comparatively Raayo doesn't have many comic scenes to his credit but he compensates for that by playing a serious level leaded guy well. He emotes well in an understated manner. Amongst the girls, Nushrat has the meatiest role and she plays it all well too without going overboard. Ishita looks bewitching and given the good roles, she has the potential to move ahead in Bollywood. She also acts every bit the kind of (opportunistic) young women one comes across in cosmopolitan cities. Sonalli plays her glamorous part well and would certainly be the most hated one (due to her characterisation). Still, credit to her for getting it right. Any blemishes in this overall fun affair? Well, at the very beginning of the film you do end up spending some time joining the dots and understanding the characters. Also for around 15 odd minutes in the second half, there is a bit of monotony that sets in where you start feeling that the boys should just walk out of their relationship sooner than later. A little smoothness here or there could have made it an out and out laugh riot. Also, towards the very end you do feel if an out and out humor filled scene would have helped in bringing a perfect culmination for the characters.

Nevertheless you still come out of the film happy with not just the promotional track (Kutta) doing the trick but also other songs like 'Chak Glassi' and 'Ishq Na Kariyo' playing in your mind as well. They go well with the youthful flavour of the film. Also, unlike many a slapstick affairs where the jokes disappear sooner than later, in case of 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' they stay on with you for much longer, hence resulting in a repeat value for the film.